WASHINGTON – Sen. Hillary Clinton’s image across the country has hit a new low in the wake of Pardongate – with most Americans now having a negative view of the ex-first lady, a new national poll shows.

A total of 51 percent of Americans now have an unfavorable view of Clinton and only 39 percent view her positively, according to the Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll.

She had a much better image on Jan. 12, just before the Clintons left the White House amid controversy over pardons and gift-grabbing. Then she had a rating of 52 percent positive and 38 percent negative.

The poll also suggests New York City is really out of whack with the rest of the country regarding Bill Clinton.

Asked “if Clinton ran for mayor in your city, would you vote for him?” the poll found 65 percent wouldn’t and only 30 percent would.

Other surveys have found Bill Clinton could win if he ran for Big Apple mayor.

President Bush did well in the Fox poll – 56 percent said he’s doing a good job while only 23 percent disapprove. The nationwide poll of 904 registered voters was taken Wednesday and Thursday and has an error margin of 3 percentage points either way.

The Clintons’ increasingly negative national image dims, at least for now, any chance that Sen. Clinton will become a national leader of her party or a 2004 presidential contender against Bush.

Asked for comment on the bad-news poll, Clinton spokeswoman Karen Dunn replied: “Senator Clinton is more concerned with numbers that matter to real people, like the number of new teachers in our classrooms.”

A recent Post poll in New York found Sen. Clinton has a better image in her new home state. It showed 51 percent viewed her positively even though 58 percent believed she lied when she denied knowing about her brother Hugh Rodham’s role in Pardongate.

Hugh Rodham got $400,000 to lobby Bill Clinton for two convicted felons who got pardons. Despite his pledge to repay the money, The Post yesterday revealed he has yet to repay $100,000 because he spent it.

Meanwhile, Sen. Clinton yesterday continued her attack on Bush and criticized his decision to fire three of the four U.S. attorneys in New York. Only Manhattan U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White, who’s probing Pardongate, will stay on indefinitely.

“I think it’s more efficient and serves the cause of justice not to disrupt the term of someone who is performing well,” said the former first lady, whose husband fired all U.S. attorneys far faster, just two months after taking office.

Bush is phasing out Clinton appointees over a longer period of time. Most will be asked to leave by June, but 12 to 15 handling sensitive investigations will be staying on.

In White’s case, Justice Department officials say the prime reason for keeping her is the terror trial of Osama bin Laden, although it also leaves her time to see if laws were broken by Clinton’s controversial pardons of people like fugitive billionaire Marc Rich.